In this coming series I am going to drive deeper into dairy goat training, pulling content directly from my book Show Your Way to the Top. So that you can get tips and advice for free.

When we begin training, the goal is to begin with ten minutes per day. Newborn kids can benefit from this time, especially if they are raised on their mother. Start spending time around them and getting them comfortable with you and your smell. Bottle babies are naturally going to have this interaction with you daily and this can be a huge benefit. If the kids are not bottle fed, you will need to be intentional about creating time to be around even the youngest goats. 

At one to two weeks of age you can put a collar on them and get them used to wearing it regularly. Make sure the collar is taken off when they are put away. This isn’t time to begin dragging them around, but to continue petting and getting them comfortable with you. 

Four weeks old is when you get more intentional. Begin daily petting and touching. You know the judge will be handling the goats in the show ring, so you want to get them comfortable with it now. Some showmen offer them treats while they pet and touch down their back and legs. Treats are fine at this early age, but it is best not to continue it. Bottle kids may be delighted to just suck on your fingers while you handle them. 

At ten to eleven weeks, you can begin making big progress. Usually around weaning time, you should get serious about helping them understand the collar. Once you have caught your goat, put her on a soft collar she can’t get out of easily. For this type of early training, you can use any soft collar you have. Leather and nylon dog collars work great; it just needs to be snug. Do not use your chain collar yet. You don’t want to use chain collars as long as the goat yanks or pulls on them.

Once you have the collar on your goat, you can just stand with her until she learns to stand calm. If you are working with a young goat kid, she may decide to throw fits and jump or spin out of your grip. Your goal is to calm her down and teach her to understand the collar. The problem with this is that these goats are often so small it takes a lot of bending over. This makes it extremely difficult to work with more than one goat. I am going to teach you my preferred method of collar training, but every showman can do it the way they are the most comfortable with and what seems the safest to them. Some breeds are more dramatic than others and if you are not comfortable tying them up, just stick with the collar in your hand all the way through. 

Using the Fence to Train

Some showmen find it easier to begin training by tying goats to the fence. This is the system I recommend for the very beginning. This is also especially helpful if you have an older or stronger animal that has never been on the collar before. If possible, tie her inside the pen so she is on familiar ground. For safety reasons, always tie your animal using a quick-release knot. Without a proper knot, the lead will become nearly impossible to untie when the animal acts up. Never leave any goat, trained or untrained, tied alone as they can hang themselves. Tie the animal’s head higher than her shoulder and somewhat close (4-6 inches from the fence or post) so she has less room to jump around or get tangled.

During these first few training days your goal is to get her used to you and the collar. This is where you have to be patient because goats really don’t understand what the collar is and they may get very frustrated. You can give them grain the first few times to help them if you want. If they are fighting the fence, just understand that it is a good unmovable object for them to fight with. They may be fighting the fence, but they are not fighting you. Depending on the goat, if you are working with them every day you will usually see improvement within a week. 

It may only take a few days before the goat no longer jumps or spins. This is when you can transition to standing a few feet away. I know one showman who likes to tie up her kids while she milks her older does. She can easily get up if the kid starts jumping, but completes another task with the kids always in her sight. This is a good system since most showmen milk twice a day and the goats are guaranteed to get time learning the collar. It teaches them patience as well as respect for the collar.

Again, for the first few days, stay right beside these young kids until you are certain they understand the fence and you can predict their behavior from slightly farther away. 

That is my first blog on dairy goat training. If you want the entire chapter and tons of more tips, check out the book. This comes directly from my book Show Your Way to the Top at mastershowmanship.com/shop or even grab it on amazon if you prefer!